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  • 1.  EmbARK/Web Kiosk integration with WordPress

    Posted 10-30-2020 11:03 AM
    Good morning,
    I'm trying to identify a couple of museums that have successfully integrated EmbARK/Web Kiosk with WordPress. If your museum makes your collection publicly accessible through EmbARK/Web Kiosk, and you'd be willing to answer a few questions as we upgrade this feature on our website, please email me at kmcmillan@ashevilleart.org.
    Many thanks for your help! Have a great weekend,


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    Kristi McMillan
    Director of Learning & Engagement
    Asheville Art Museum
    kmcmillan@ashevilleart.org | (828) 253-3227
    Asheville, NC
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  • 2.  RE: EmbARK/Web Kiosk integration with WordPress

    Posted 11-02-2020 01:40 PM
    We migrated to CatalogIt from Embark. The migration was fairly painless (especially considering we were the first to migrate from Embark) and they have tons of front facing options once you get migrated over. More than we'll ever use. OH and it's WAY cheaper. Just a thought.

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    Matthew Isble
    Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
    Crocker Art Museum
    Sacramento CA
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  • 3.  RE: EmbARK/Web Kiosk integration with WordPress

    Posted 11-02-2020 02:50 PM
    Hi Kristi - 
    We put a WordPress layer over our Web Kiosk interface several years ago and have been really pleased with the overall effect. It has the look/feel of our website while having all the standard benefits of a CMS driven online collection.  The templates provided by EmbARK were modified by a third-party who were comfortable with both EmbARK standards and Word Press. Once that was completed, I have been able to maintain them internally - even when we added significant numbers of resources to the website during shutdown. 

    While WordPress and EmbARK are not a perfect fit (like WordPress gets an update and I am not aware and then the online collection doesn't update for a day or two), it hasn't been a significant problem. I am so pleased with EmbARK overall - specifically with the help/support from their staff - that this is just a minor inconvenience. I haven't used CatalogIt, but the value of EmbARK's  support and expertise makes the cost well worth it for our organization.

    I am happy to talk more offline!
    Best, 
    Anne 


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    Anne Lenhart
    Collections Manager
    Meadows Museum - Southern Methodist University
    Dallas TX
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: EmbARK/Web Kiosk integration with WordPress

    Posted 11-02-2020 04:22 PM
    Hi Kristi,

    We have worked with a number of museums to complete integrations between EmbARK Web Kiosk and WordPress (as well as other web content management systems).  Many Kiosk sites simply customize the templates to match the look and feel of the main museum site and then make a direct link.  The biggest advantage of integration is that the base URL stays exactly the same when viewing collection content -- and yet each page still has a unique Kiosk URL that can be bookmarked (unlike iFrames).

    The challenge with CMS integration is that you need a developer who understands how to pull the Kiosk content over.  Otherwise, EmbARK Support provides any help you need to customize the display of the database content part and remove all extra headers, footers, and styling that are no longer needed.  When everything if finished, the Kiosk content refreshes automatically every night and the styling is all controlled as part of your regular website.




    I can share contacts for others as well as needed.

    Hope this is helpful!
    Robb



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    Robert Detlefs
    Director, Customer Care
    Gallery Systems, Inc.
    New York, NY
    www.gallerysystems.com
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